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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145310">Stocking Filler 6</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage'>Persiflage</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Berena Secret Santa 2020 [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Holby City</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bathing/Washing, Berena Secret Santa 2020, Bernie Wolfe: World's Okay-est Lesbian, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/F, First Kiss, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mulled wine, Serena Campbell: Bisexual Extraordinaire, Stocking Filler, Workplace Secret Santa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:15:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145310</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Canon Divergence: Unbeknownst to either of them, Bernie and Serena have drawn each other in the AAU Secret Santa.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Berena Secret Santa 2020 [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027821</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Berena Secret Santa 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stocking Filler 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemam/gifts">littlemam</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This canon divergence takes place during the first year that Bernie works at Holby. She never kissed Serena after Fletch got stabbed and while she did go to Kyiv, she went with Serena's blessing and they stayed in touch, although they were still only friends at this point.</p><p>Written for the Berena Secret Santa Stocking Filler prompts: <i>Secret Santa(ception)</i>, <i>Christmas Jumper</i>, <i>Mulled Wine</i>, and <i>Mistletoe</i>.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What’s all this?” Bernie asks as she trudges into the consultants’ office. ‘This’ involves tinsel and decorations scattered about the place, what smells suspiciously like mulled wine, and a Christmas jumper and Santa hat draped over her chair.</p><p>Serena raises an eyebrow. “Have you forgotten it’s the Secret Santa exchange at <i>Albie’s</i> tonight? This is to get you in the mood.”</p><p>“Oh.” Bernie can’t quite manage to inject any enthusiasm into her voice. She’d forgotten all about that since it’s been an incredibly long day that started with a complicated trauma surgery at 5am following a bad RTC and has been packed with other tiring surgeries throughout the day. She’d had only a cereal bar for breakfast, had too much coffee throughout the long day, and had eaten only half a sandwich from <i>Pulses</i> well past lunchtime, and she doesn’t feel like socialising with her colleagues tonight. She just wants to go home, take a hot shower to try to ease the muscles cramping in her back from hours spent bent over theatre tables, swallow some painkillers, and sleep for a week.</p><p>But Serena’s expectant expression stops her from mentioning any of this; indeed, Serena must be aware of most of this already. Certainly she knows about the surgeries that Bernie’s spent the last twelve hours performing since she herself has been in since 8.30am.</p><p>“You don’t want to come,” her co-lead observes shrewdly.</p><p>“I’m not sure that I have the energy,” Bernie confesses. “Sorry.”</p><p>“Back playing up?”</p><p>Bernie bites her bottom lip, then nods.</p><p>“And I imagine you’re pretty tired, given how early your day started,” Serena says.</p><p>Before Bernie can answer that a huge yawn seizes her, making her flush with embarrassment even as her eyes start watering. “Sorry,” she mumbles, pulling her hand away from her mouth.</p><p>“You didn’t finish your sandwich at lunchtime, did you?”</p><p>“Wasn’t even lunchtime,” Bernie says, then claps a hand over her mouth as she yawns again.</p><p>“Right,” Serena says briskly. “Sit down and drink your mulled wine. I’ll be back.” She squeezes Bernie’s forearm as she passes on her way out of the door and after a moment Bernie sits down in one of the guest chairs and picks up one of the two mugs sitting on Serena’s desk. The mulled wine has quite a kick, which doesn’t surprise Bernie at all. What does surprise her is its presence in their office: it’s hot which means it’s freshly made, yet there’s nowhere in the hospital to make mulled wine, so far as Bernie’s aware. She decides she’s too tired to try to puzzle it out and takes another large swallow, then leans her head back against the wall and closes her eyes.</p><p>She isn’t aware of sliding into sleep, but the brush of the back of Serena’s fingers against her cheek makes her start awake again with a groan and a muffled curse as her back protests against the sudden movement.</p><p>“C’mon soldier,” Serena says, her voice sounding oddly husky. “Drink up, then you’re coming back to mine.”</p><p>Bernie gazes up at her blearily. “What?” she asks confusedly.</p><p>“I’ve got our Secret Santa gifts,” she says, lifting a reusable cotton shopping bag in one hand. “You’re going to come back to mine to have dinner with me and Jason, then you can have a long hot soak in my tub because, let’s face it, a hot shower won’t cut if your back is playing you up as much as I suspect it is.”</p><p>It’s true that a long hot bath would do far more for Bernie’s back than a quick shower, and it’s also true that Bernie’s bathroom does not possess a bathtub. </p><p>“We can stop off at yours if there’s anything you particularly want from home,” Serena says. “Pyjamas, underwear, toothbrush, etc.”</p><p>Bernie huffs a laugh. “I’ve got an emergency kitbag in the boot of my car full of that sort of stuff.”</p><p>“Proper little Girl Guide, aren’t we?” teases Serena.</p><p>Bernie shakes her head. “I was never a Brownie or a Girl Guide.”</p><p>“You weren’t?” Serena sounds rather astonished.</p><p>“Nope. I did Outward Bound.”</p><p>“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” teases the brunette. “C’mon soldier, drink up.”</p><p>“Yes ma’am,” Bernie ripostes with a salute, making Serena laugh. She swallows down her mulled wine, then clasps Serena’s hand when she offers it and allows the other woman to help her up out of the chair.</p><p>“Bring the jumper,” Serena tells her. “You can wear it over your pyjamas while you eat dinner.”</p><p>Bernie huffs another laugh, then eases herself into her pink wool coat, before taking her satchel from the bottom drawer of her desk. She folds the jumper over her arm, haphazardly places the Santa hat on her head, then follows Serena out of their office and outside into the bitter cold late afternoon.</p><p>“I’d forgotten how much I hate the cold until I came back to England,” she observes, her breath puffing out in front of her in white clouds.</p><p>“I thought it got cold at night in the desert?” </p><p>“Not this cold,” Bernie says, then nods in thanks when Serena pauses by her car so that Bernie can unlock the boot and retrieve her emergency kitbag.</p><p>She puts it, the jumper, and her satchel on the back seat of Serena’s car, then climbs into the front passenger seat with a shiver: the interior of the car feels even colder than it had outside, if that’s at all possible.</p><p>“Don’t worry, I’ll soon have you warmed up,” Serena says and Bernie wonders if she’s imagining the flirty edge to the brunette’s words.</p><p>“Good.” </p><p>Once they get to Serena’s home, Bernie finds herself practically hustled upstairs to use the ensuite in Serena’s room. “Jason will be home before you’re done and he always takes a shower as soon as he gets home,” the brunette explains. “So it’s better if you use my bathroom, then you won’t have to cut short your long hot soak.”</p><p>“Okay. Thank you.”</p><p>“Help yourself to whatever bath products you want to use,” Serena says. “There’s any number of Lush products in the cupboard as Elinor tends to buy them for me for Mother’s Day and I tend to shower more often than I use the bath, so they don’t get used up very quickly. Or there’s ordinary Radox if you prefer.”</p><p>Bernie smiles shyly. “Thank you. And, um, thanks for taking care of me tonight.”</p><p>“Well, someone needs to,” Serena says. “And since you don’t have a girlfriend to look after you, you’ll have to make do with me.”</p><p>“Serena, there’s no ‘making do’ with you,” Bernie protests. “Your friendship is very important to me.”</p><p>“As is yours to me. Now why don’t you get yourself into that bathroom and I’ll come and get you when dinner’s ready. And try not to fall asleep. I don’t want to have to call the paramedics to come and revive you.”</p><p>Bernie laughs unrestrainedly and Serena grins. “Get along with you, soldier,” she says, a fond look in her eyes.</p><p>“I’m going,” Bernie assures her, taking her kitbag with her into the ensuite and trying not to think too much about the fact that she is in Serena’s bathroom. The rush of excitement that she experiences despite her best efforts at least has the effect of waking her up a bit more, so she decides to take that as a win. She puts the plug into the bath and starts the taps running, then opens the door to the cabinet above the handwash basin and sees a veritable array of bath bombs and other Lush products. She raises an eyebrow at some of the rather more exotic sounding items, then grabs the regular Radox salts, tipping some into the water. She strips out of her clothes with some mild groaning as her muscles object to her movements, then she lays out on the seat of the chair in the corner her pyjamas and the thick socks she tends to wear in bed since her feet always seem to be cold. </p><p>Once the bath has run she climbs carefully into it, then emits a groan of pure pleasure as the heat hits her aching body as she seats herself.</p><p>There’s a quick rap on the door. “You alright in there?” asks Serena.</p><p>“I’m fine,” Bernie croaks, suddenly wondering if Serena’s getting changed on the other side of the door.</p><p>“Okay. It’s Shepherd’s Pie tonight. That okay?”</p><p>“It sounds heavenly,” Bernie says.</p><p>“Good.”</p><p>She leans back against the pad of the towel she’s placed on the edge of the bath to support her neck and closes her eyes. She’ll have to make sure that she doesn’t fall asleep, not so much because she’s worried about Serena having to rescue her but because it’ll make getting out of the bath afterwards so much harder.</p><p>Her back muscles begin to unknot themselves and Bernie finds herself relaxing into the heat of the water. She hears Jason come home and hints of the conversation between him and his Aunty Serena, then a bit later she hears his footsteps on the stairs. She drifts off into a light doze but stirs herself awake when she notices that the bath water is cooling off. She’s just reaching for the plug when there’s a quick rap on the door.</p><p>“Bernie? Are you awake in there?”</p><p>“I am,” Bernie calls.</p><p>“Good. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes.”</p><p>“Thank you. I’ll be there.”</p><p>She pulls the plug, then stands up, noting that her movements are much freer now and feeling immense gratitude to Serena for the fact. She steps out of the bath, then sets about briskly towelling herself dry, before pulling on her pyjamas and the Christmas jumper that Serena had left in the office for her. It’s got holly and mistletoe on it and is remarkably restrained for a Christmas jumper. Not that she minds restrained. She pulls her socks on, then drags a brush through her hair, for what it’s worth, before making her way downstairs.</p><p>Serena’s waiting for her in the hallway, looking ravishing in a holly red dress that’s cut low to expose her creamy décolletage, and Bernie is unable to quite stop her mouth from dropping open at the sight. </p><p>“Wow, I feel distinctly under dressed now,” she says, rubbing ruefully at the back of her neck.</p><p>“Would you prefer it if I was wearing pyjamas and a Christmas jumper?” Serena asks. “I just thought it would be nice to dress up for once.”</p><p>“No, you look wonderful,” Bernie says, perhaps a little too honestly. “But I am definitely going to go and put some proper clothes on.”</p><p>“You don’t have to,” Serena says quickly. </p><p>“I’d feel better if I did, if you don’t mind. I won’t be long.” She doesn’t wait for an answer, just bounds up the stairs two at a time and rushes into Serena’s room, where she’d left her kitbag and her clothes. It doesn’t take her very long to switch her pyjamas for her usual skinny jeans and long sleeved shirt, although she omits her usual vest top in favour of pulling the Christmas jumper back on in deference to the occasion.</p><p>Serena’s still in the hallway when she returns and she smirks a bit, then reaches out to flatten Bernie’s unruly hair that’s become even more unruly than usual thanks to the static electricity from the woollen jumper she pulled on and off.</p><p>Bernie barely refrains from purring like a cat at the touch of Serena’s hand to her hair. She’s probably scant seconds away from doing something really foolish when Jason appears in the kitchen doorway and demands, “What’s the hold up?” He spots Bernie and grins. “Hello, Doctor Bernie.”</p><p>“Hello Jason. I’m sorry for the hold up. It’s entirely my fault.”</p><p>“Can we eat now, then, Aunty Serena?”</p><p>“We can,” Serena agrees and turns towards the door, clasping Bernie’s wrist to lead her into the kitchen. </p><p>She takes the seat that Serena leads her too, then observes to Jason, “I like your bowtie.”</p><p>He grins and touches a hand to it. “Thank you. Aunty Serena bought it for me to wear instead of a Christmas jumper.” It’s got mistletoe on it and he looks rather adorable in it, though Bernie refrains from saying so for fear of offending him. She can’t help noticing that between Jason’s bowtie with mistletoe on it, Bernie’s Christmas jumper with both holly and mistletoe on it, and Serena’s holly red dress they are dressed thematically. She suspects that’s not an accident and she can’t help feeling an unaccustomed warmth in her chest at being included in Serena’s theme, as if she’s part of the Campbell and Haynes family.</p><p>The Shepherd’s Pie is delicious, and she doesn’t hesitate to say so, and is followed by a warm mince with double cream poured over it. </p><p>“You do know how to spoil a girl,” she tells Serena as she scrapes the last vestiges of cream from her bowl.</p><p>Serena gives her a beaming smile. “You deserve it.”</p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p>Jason clears the table, his usual chore, Bernie gathers, and Serena leads her into the sitting room where two Christmas gift bags are sitting on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Jason is going out with his friend Allan to the cinema, which means that Serena and Bernie will be alone for at least a couple of hours. Bernie’s not entirely sure this is a good thing.</p><p>“I must give a prize to whomever got my gift,” Serena says as they sit down together, the brunette’s shoulder, arm, and leg pressed against Bernie’s since she’s chosen to sit impossibly close.</p><p>“Why?” asks Bernie apprehensively. She had been the one to buy Serena’s Secret Santa gift and she’d spent an incredibly long time dithering over what to get. She’d rejected the easy option of a bottle of Shiraz since it seemed far too obvious and lacking in originality.</p><p>“I usually get a bottle of wine and normally it’s Shiraz if whoever’s buying for me knows the first thing about me. This year my gift giver’s picked something else. Therefore, they deserve a prize.”</p><p>“Perhaps you should wait and see what it is before deciding that?” Bernie suggests somewhat nervously.</p><p>Serena shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so.” She nods at Bernie’s gift which, like Serena’s, is hidden within a metallic red gift bag. “You first, Major.”</p><p>“Age before beauty?” Bernie asks.</p><p>Serena preens. “Well, now that you mention it.”</p><p>Bernie snorts, then picks up the bag by its handles and notes that it has very little weight. Frowning, she peers inside and sees an envelope and a small gift wrapped item. She pulls them both out, nodding at Serena when she takes the gift bag from her, and unwraps the gift first. Whatever it is, it’s incredibly soft, she thinks, then gasps when she sees a beautiful cashmere scarf in a darker pink colour than her pastel pink coat. </p><p>“Wow,” she says softly, unfolding it. “This is gorgeous. I’m almost afraid to wear it.”</p><p>“Why?” asks Serena, sounding baffled.</p><p>Bernie shrugs. “It’s so soft. I’d be scared of damaging it.”</p><p>The brunette shakes her head. “I know you, Berenice Wolfe. You’re incredibly careful with delicate things.” Serena takes it from her and drapes it around her neck. “You’ll look a bit less butch when you’re wearing it.”</p><p>“Butch?” Bernie repeats, startled.</p><p>“Mmhmm. Now you look like a soft butch.”</p><p>Bernie frowns at her. “Since when do you know about butches, soft or otherwise?” she asks curiously. She’s surprised when Serena blushes.</p><p>“Well,” she says, her hand going up to fiddle with her necklace. “I, um, I may have done a little research into lesbianism once we started working together.”</p><p>Bernie feels her frown deepen. “Why? Being a lesbian has nothing to do with how good a surgeon I am.”</p><p>“I know,” Serena says. She bumps her shoulder against Bernie’s. “I wanted to be a good ally and to be a good ally, I needed information.”</p><p>Bernie shakes her head. “You’re something else, Serena Campbell.”</p><p>“Does that mean you’re not angry at me?”</p><p>“Of course I’m not angry at you,” Bernie says immediately. “I’m touched by your desire to be an ally.” She reaches out and clasps Serena’s hand in her own. “I mean, I think that might be the nicest thing anyone has done for me since I joined Holby.”</p><p>Serena squeezes Bernie’s hand in her own. “What are friends for? Now, are you going to open your envelope?”</p><p>Reluctantly Bernie disentangles her hand from Serena’s and opens the envelope to find that it holds a gift voucher for one of the local Spas and a brochure listing the treatments on offer. “Wow,” she says, gazing at it. “This is quite the gift. I’m sure whoever got me as their recipient must’ve spent more than the mandated twenty pounds. Even I know spa treatments aren’t cheap.”</p><p>“You’re worth it, though,” Serena says, her voice low.</p><p>Bernie looks at her, then something clicks. “You were my Secret Santa,” she says.</p><p>Serena’s face flushes, the colour spreading down her throat in a tide of red that Bernie finds utterly fascinating to watch. “I don’t know why you’d say that,” she says feebly.</p><p>Bernie chuckles. “One, you’re blushing. Two, you’re fiddling with your pendant, which is a real tell for you. Three, you’re not denying it.”</p><p>“You’re far too sharp for your own good, Major,” Serena says.</p><p>“Open your gift,” Bernie urges, now feeling less nervous about Serena’s response to it.</p><p>Serena gives her a soft smile, then reaches into her gift bag, revealing a small squashy parcel not dissimilar to the one Bernie’s already opened, and beneath that, a pretty box with a Shiraz red ribbon around it.</p><p>She opens the soft parcel first, then gasps when she sees the gauzy silk scarf in a mid blue and pale blue, the colours remarkably similar to the shades of blue of their respective scrubs.</p><p>“That’s beautiful,” Serena says. “I can’t believe it cost less than twenty pounds.”</p><p>Bernie hides a smile, but the brunette nudges her elbow. “This is from you, isn’t it?”</p><p>“I can neither confirm nor deny,” Bernie says with a chuckle.</p><p>“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” Serena says with a smirk. </p><p>Bernie just raises her eyebrows, then asks, “Are you going to open the other present?”</p><p>“I am.” Serena drapes the silk scarf around her neck, then unties the ribbon bow on the box, lifts the lid, and groans in a way that Bernie finds very arousing.</p><p>“No need to ask what these are,” Serena says. “I can smell the Shiraz.” She inhales delicately. “Hand made Shiraz truffles. Someone’s more talented than they’ve been letting on.”</p><p>Bernie smirks in response to this, then watches avidly as Serena takes one from the box and slips it between her lips. The blonde clenches her thighs at the positively indecent groan of pleasure that the brunette utters.</p><p>“God, that’s decadent. Here.” Serena takes another truffle from the box and holds it out to Bernie. She leans in and wraps her lips around the truffle; her lips skim Serena’s fingers, too, and Bernie can’t quite hold back a moan of appreciation. </p><p>She finds herself being watched as avidly as she’d just watched Serena, and then her co-lead leans in and kisses her softly on the lips, and Bernie’s groan of pleasure is deeper than Serena’s had been when eating the truffle.</p><p>“Oh god, Serena,” she gasps when the brunette releases her mouth. “I’ve been wanting to do that for so long.”</p><p>“Me too,” Serena says softly. “When I researched about lesbian, I also did some research for myself.”</p><p>“Oh?” Bernie slides her arms around her. “What did you research?”</p><p>“Well, I think I’m probably a bisexual.”</p><p>“Okay.” </p><p>Serena raises an eyebrow. “Is that it?” she asks, sounding a little irritated.</p><p>Bernie shrugs. “How you identify is your affair, Serena. I don’t care what you call yourself as long as you’re happy.”</p><p>“I am now,” Serena says firmly.</p><p>“Good.” Bernie takes the box of truffles from her and puts them on the coffee table, then she wraps her left arm across Serena’s shoulders, slides her right hand to the nape of her neck, then leans back in and kisses her extremely thoroughly.</p><p>When they eventually pull apart from a lack of air, Serena looks very much like the cat that got the cream.</p><p>“What?” Bernie asks.</p><p>Serena smiles. “You’re an excellent kisser, just as I’d hoped.”</p><p>Bernie chuckles. “If you’ll let me, I’ll show you what else I’m excellent at.”</p><p>Serena pulls away from her, stands up, then holds out a hand to Bernie, who takes it as she gets to her feet. </p><p>“We’re going upstairs,” the brunette says. “Okay?”</p><p>“It’s more than okay,” Bernie reassures her. ”I’ve seen you watching my hands, you know. So let me show you just what they can do for you.”</p><p>Smirking, Serena leads Bernie up to her room.</p>
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